Posts Tagged ‘Just One Mans Opinion’

If you own a Keurig you have probably experienced this problem and searched online as did I for a cure. I couldn’t find anything that worked so I took it upon myself to try repairing it on my own.

Easy fix and so far after more than 24 cups I haven’t had the problem anymore. Prior to fix my Keurig would need to be unplugged and warmed up again in between EVERY cup brewed. This started after about a year of use.

1. At bottom inside ofÂ reservoir water tankÂ you will need to remove 3 screws that hold the filter screen in place. Take screen and scrub/ rinse any particles that have accumulated. Replace back into tank.

2. Turn Keurig brewer over and remove 5 screws that hold the bottom cover plate. After removing you will see a small plastic hose that attaches the pump to the intake where the water enters from the reservoir tank. There are two zip ties and a hose clamp that keep the hose attached to the fittings. You will need to clean the plastic inlet at the top of the hose, Remove the 2Â screws holding it to the base of the brewer. Then cut loose the two zip tie ends from the hose. This will allow removal of the inlet tube.

3. Push out the black plastic screen from the white plastic/ rubber inlet. Replacing it is easy as it only goes back in the inlet one way. Scrub and rinse the screen to remove debris. Replace back into the inlet. Attach the hose to the inlet and secure with two new zip ties. Screw inlet back in place and replace the bottom cover.

4. At this point I primed the intake where the reservoir tank fits into the base ( you can find this where the blue low water light comes on with tank removed). Pour a little water into this hole prior to placing the tank back in place. This will help insure that water draws thru without air on the first brew.

5. I ran a couple of water cycles thru the brewer prior to using coffee to make sure all was working well.

Some of us get bitten by the bug at an early age , when we see our first cool car or hear the sound of that rumbling exhaust note. Once bitten by that bug it stays with you for life.

I pulled my first car out of weeds higher than the cars roof line and I can still remember that Camaro’sÂ nose sticking out from behind all that grass. It wasn’t much of a car with all the rust and rot that years of neglect can do to metal, but it was still worth buying. I remember my dad telling me that the owner should have paid me to take it. That was the beginning of my love affair with American muscle cars.

There is something about all those cool cars from the sixties and seventies that I just can’t move past, even with all the advancements of today’s automobiles . The simplicity of the engines, all the metal and chrome, the chirp of the wheels when pulling second gear. All the things that pulled at me back then still tug at me today, but the one thing that is lacking in today’s cars is nostalgia. The feelings and memories of being a kid race thru my mind every time I see an old car.

Describing the feelings that you get while restoring a broken down, rusty old car areÂ damn near impossible to put in words. It’s similar in a way to falling for your first girlfriend. You want to be around her all the time. Take care of her. Show her off. Sit and listen to her. Tell everyone about her. That crazy feeling inside that makes you forget everything around you except when you’ll spend your next moments in her company.

There is something that is very gratifying about wrenching and building your own car instead of buying one already done. You put your mark on it. It becomes a part of your personality. You sit in the drivers seat and everything slows down. You know it sounds silly but its not the same as just driving your Jeep or Toyota. Those are transportation and this is your piece of rolling art that you crafted so carefully just the way you dreamed it would be. All those bloody knuckles, cold afternoons in your garage changing parts, searching junkyards and the internet for that hard to locate steering wheel cap. That’s what makes old cars so special.

There has never been a period in my life when I wentÂ any length of time without an old car in my garage. Selling one off is like ending a relationship. As soon as its gone your out there looking for another to replace her. Even today as I write this, I just recently put the finishing touches on the latest build. Old car with new technology. They call it a resto-mod. I guess it had to be called something. Great idea these resto-mods, putting today’s bigger brakes, overdrive transmissions and fuel injected ls3 computer driven engines that spit out 400-500 hp and average 15-20 miles a gallon into yesterdays classic body’s.Â All of which were unheard of when these cars were driven off the assembly line but now possible because of an enormous demand for restoring these cars.

I am now at a time in my life when hanging out with 70 year old men is more of the norm, than hanging with 30 year old men. It happens quickly, seamlessly and more strangely, as a welcome change.

I used to joke to my wife about how old men are more friendly and approachable than old women. Men always seem happier and more apt to strike up a conversation whereas women seem to busy and preoccupied with hair and nails. Well maybe not just hair and nails but it’s something that is on their minds.Â I believe it goes back to how men never really change even as they age. We actually become more like we were when we were young the older we get.

I’ve begun to seek out older guys. They always have something interesting to talk about and I always learn something from them. Old guys now have time for hobbies so many of them go back to collecting cars asÂ pastime. Sports are always on the table and if you are a diehard fan it doesn’t get better than to talk to a someone from the 40’s or 50’s. To hear them talk about a life we can only imagine. A simpler time when radio broadcasts were as groundbreaking an event as streaming video is today.Â Their colorful recap of the past is especially amazing since they only had their ears to rely on for a picture of what was happening.

I love cars. I really love the old ones especially because they remind me of my past.Â Yesterday, I took a motorcycle ride on a beautiful fall day, to seek out a 1969 Camaro that is for sale in my town. Lo and behold I found myself in a scene from one of today’s car reality shows. I arrive and as I ride down a long driveway, I am waved on by a woman who I would later meet as one of the owners of the Camaro. As I continue along, I see a huge garage, a fifty foot monster lined with doors, just behind the house I am passing, and in front is an older man directing me where to park.

In my head I am thinking that this is going to be an experience that one hears about like urban legends. As I dismount I can’t help but to laugh to myself because I am approaching a part of automobile heaven. Then I think this could go one of two ways. This man could be a really cool car guy or he could be a real pompous ass who just loves to show off his toys. Luck today, would shine as strong as the sun on me for he was a cool car guy.

Now here is why old guys rule. This gentleman and I spoke for over an hour and a half about everything from how he grew up to how he acquired the 25 or so cars and motorcycles that we toured through that day. Each car and bike had a very detailed history that he was very eager to share with me. The part that pulls me in every time is the passion you can sense when they talk about their life and how it has intertwined with their vehicles over all these years. Walking through all the cars, batteries, lifts, tools and parts you can’t help but think this man is a hoarder so we joke about all the unfinished projects that he knows will never get done. At some point I felt myself being drawn into this mans life. I envisioned spending my days off from work, helping him pull parts and shine up the cars and organize his garage which he definitely can’t do on his own any longer. Being 76 yrs old, he made it clear that he’s run out of steam and lost his motivation to see anything from start to finish. I told him he needed someone to get his juices flowing again. Not wanting to spook him, I held back volunteering to get my hands dirty after just meeting him but I will most surely return another day to drop that idea on him. Being that he has a son that doesn’t share his interest in cars, he needs someone to reignite that spark.Â I couldn’t help but to tell him how cool I thought it was that he could just come out here everyday, crank his radio up and hang out in that huge man cave of a garage he has. He laughed and agreed that it was the best part of his day to just go out there and hang around in the mess he’s accumulated for some 30 years.

When I was younger, my friends and I would gather in someones garage, work on our carsÂ and play music, laugh and break each others chops for hours, all with out a care in the world. Now as I have reached the other end of my lifeline, I can see why men find their way back to the garage. There is something very nostalgic about old age and cars that makes it one of life’s more enjoyable moments. Men don’t change. We take breaks now and then to raise children, stress over our jobs and try to find ways to make our wives happy. But that old car guy isÂ in there somewhere, just waiting for his moment to go back in time and do the things he loved.Â The things that helped to shape his life and made him the person he is today. Old Guys do rule!!!!

Over the last six years I have driven by Carmela’s many times. At night, while lit up, it looks intriguing and like a place I would someday visit. On this trip my wife and I would do so for our anniversary dinner date.

While visiting Carmela’s website http://www.carmelaspizza.com and reading about its history and chefs bio’s, I turned to the menu page. Items on the menu spiked my interestÂ and gave me more reason to finally visit.

The restaurant itself is split on two sides. One side being the pizza style dining area and the other a more formal area featuring a full service bar. Carmela’s also boasts an extensive wine list.

Ever since eating farm raised fish and shrimp became an issue of making choices for better health I have made it a habit to only eat fish and shrimp caught wild and especially in local US waters. Carmela’s offers a seafood dish that includes shrimp so I asked our server if she knew where the shrimp were from. She said that they were purchased based on pricing and not always from the nearby Gulf waters. That being said I turned away from that dish and chose instead the Chicken Saltimbocca. My wife was drawn to the Pork Osso Bucco and also wanted to try the Medjole Dates, stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in Speck ( a cured meat air dried and similar to Proscuitto).

The Medjole Dates served hot and cooked crisp, were very very good. The have a slight crunch and are creamy, sweet and slightly smoky. Really good and with a small plate size of only four, it leaves you wanting maybe one more. Excellent choice!

Our dishes arrived and at first glance we were wondering if we made the right choices. My wife was concerned that the demi glace sauce was too much like tomato sauce and the risotto was drowned in it. Mine although a healthy portion, left me curious about the sauce too. The dish was served over pasta and swimming in the sauce. It also had an over abundance of melted cheese that totally encased the twin chicken breasts. I prefer Saltimbocca separate from my pasta, minimal sauce and a lot less cheese.

Although the Saltimbocca was not what I was accustomed to it was very good. It took some doing to eat, trying to cut it through all the sauce and pasta but I made short work of one of the breasts and all of the linguine below. It would have been better served alone with more of a sage flavor and less of the overpowering cheese.

The Osso Bucco while very tender and cooked well, the sauce was made with too much tomato that hid the flavor of the meat which we were told was braised over a period of seven hours. The risotto was tasty but also would have benefited from being more separate from the sauce. Both dishes portions were substantial and at least half of which came home with us.

Our server was friendly but seemed rushed to me although my wife didn’t find fault with her. I felt she could have spent more time with us to make us feel more welcome. Perhaps asking if it were our first visit, what we could expect, customer favorites etc..I like a little more one on one with my server especially in better restaurants such as this.

One last thought. After reading about the owner and chefs training I expected to see ingredients such as Gulf ( no farm raised) Shrimp and Angus Beef and not menu choices based on food costs. With all the questions today about what is in the food we eat, its refreshing to see organic or better choice meats/ fish on menus. Everything on a menu should not be based on ingredient costs alone and should definitely NOT be the answer given by your staff.

Normally I just review places I visit to eat but I had to use my site to comment on my new Dentist.

Wow, what a crazy experience! I have to say that I have never been given a tour of a dentists office before which was a little wacky but a pretty cool idea. Being shown every room and what its purpose is was a little over the top but it does leave you with a lasting impression. My tour guide,Deanna, was a pleasure and her enthusiasm and energy was incredible. Although she tried her best to be professional, I had to make remarks about the tour as it was given. She and I laughed for almost the whole visit. I know that sounds strange and I can’t explain it. After the tour, I was greeted by my hygienist, my new dentist and the young lady who handles insurance and payments. All this time while in my chair still with bib around my neck. Everyone was great and they show a whole different approach to what a visit to a dentist can be. They use flat screens in each room to show your x-rays and pictures of your mouth as they explain what they are doing and what is needed. I learned more about my teeth and gums during my initial visit than I had in 30 years with my prior dentist. I have been bragging about their staffs “professionalism with a flair”, to say the least, to my wife who will definitely be joining me as new patients to DeMarco Family Dental. Thank you for making dentists visits both informative, a little strange
(in a good way) and definitely personal. Great job!!!!

What do you know about the planes above us spraying chemicals into the sky? Do you know anything about what is being done everyday over your head and what happens to those trails of smoke after they disperse? If you’re someone who keeps his/her head buried in the sand or just claims its another conspiracy theory, then maybe its time to invest an hour or so of your life before American Idol or the Housewives of Orange County to gather info and make your own informed decision about what is definitively having a negative affect on us all.

Atlantic ave in Delray Beach is full of restaurants with outdoor seating so choosing one without a recommendation is a hit and miss proposition. They all have a good view to people watch and I would assume they have a wide range of price difference depending on what you are looking for.

After arriving at our hotel we set out for a bite for lunch and decided to sit outdoors at the first place that looked inviting. Being it was late in the afternoon we were just looking for a light lunch and with this Caffe’s menu, it seemed to be the right place.

The menu is inviting with a good amount of choices in salads, sandwiches and such. They also boast a breakfast menu and a good sampling of desserts to choose from. I decided to try the Turkey and Hummus sandwich. Fresh turkey with hummus, baby spinach and tomatoes, with a side of greens and chick pea kim-chee salad.Â Served on a French baguette it gave an added crispy, chewy touch to the sandwich. The greens needed a bit more dressing for my taste and the chickpeas were spicy and fresh tasting. My wife ordered the Summer salad made with strawberries, grilled chicken, oranges, goat cheese and almonds which she seemed to enjoy. All in all the lunch was tasty and quite good, and the added outdoor seating makes it a nice place on a sunny day. At $10.25 and $12.95, the menu itself is a little pricey for the size of the portions served, but not not a surprise for the surrounding area. I might add that the fresh squeezed lemonade was very good.

After walking off our dinner, we returned later that evening with friends for dessert.Â The coffee served is very good as were the cheesecake and lava cake, but the chocolate honey cake was very dry and disappointing because it looked good in the pastry case. Again its not a place for inexpensive dessert as it cost more than $40 with tip for three desserts and four cups.

As a side note our server whose name I believe is Jade, was exceptional and we never had to look for her when she was needed because she made it a point to check ALL her tables each time she resurfaced from the kitchen. Pleasant surprise!!!

Well this one got me! There are three restaurants in Santee South Carolina and I already ate at one of them on my last trip so that left me with a choice from two. I went online to read reviews of both places in hopes that I could make my choice a little easier.

This place got good reviews on about 90% of the posts I found and even today, four day later I can’t fathom why.Â A lady from New Jersey, my home and a great place to find BBQ,Â even loved it. And what about that Tomato Pie did she really like. That’s not even in the same food group as the Tomato Pies from Jersey. I don’t know what that was. It looked like baked custard with a slice of tomato on top. Really???

Sorry, I digress. After driving some 11 hours, I had a hankering for some southern BBQ and was really looking forward to comfort food but what I found was a buffet of southern mush.

Really, everything except the fried chicken was soft including the green beans. They were so overcooked and unrecognizable I had to ask what they were. The rest of the buffet included BBQ pork hash( pureed pork and potatoes in sauce) and shredded BBQ pork (without the BBQ and so so very dry) as entree’s and I believe there were black eyed peas, baked mac and cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, hush puppies, rice, and a few unrecognizable items( see tomato pie above). There were some desserts which were also unrecognizable other than seeing something with peaches and something drowned in cool whip. There wasn’t an item I would try. Lone Star also states on their website that they serve salad bar items, which other than some cut tomatoes and cucumbers swimming in a liquid, I didn’t see anything that resembled salad bar items.

I ate three pieces of fried chicken, ( of which I could only locate two breasts) two hush puppies and I have to say some very tasty sweet potatoes. Oh and I did try the cole slaw which was pretty good too. The mac and cheese could have been better if it was creamier although I liked the crispy edges so I was okay with the sampling.Â When I asked if there were more breasts of chicken the server said she didn’t see any in the kitchen. Really??

The atmosphere is pretty cool and a throw back to the 60’s- 70’s. The tables and clothes reminded me of my grandmothers kitchen table from back then. The decor is all over the place from toys, tin signs, candy, and old cigar store Indian and other food stuff for purchase. It’s like the storefront in the Cracker Barrel food chain on crack.

It was very disappointing to say the least because the reviews spoke the opposite and the atmosphere was pretty cool, but I have experienced better BBQ in New Jersey than here, where it should be better hands down. How can you have dry pulled pork and then worse no BBQ sauces at the very least, to drown it in on your plate. It just looked so unappetizingÂ just sitting in a pan on the buffet. To be honest there were two sauces on the buffet. Both were ice cold and tasted like mayonnaise based dressings. I just didn’t get it.

The chef boasts of his background in Culinary and that he attended Hyde Parks Culinary Institute but I would never have known and actually was shocked at how terrible the food was. Being a graduate myself of a Culinary school and having worked in the field for over 40 years, I would have thought at least the presentation would have been outstanding.

Just the other day, my daughter asked me why I havenâ€™t written anything in such a long time. I told her I was in a slump. My slump is now over and this one is for her.

Life changes overnight when you become a father. Itâ€™s difficult to explain but easy to understand when that day occurs. You see your daughter for the first time and understand how fragile and reliant on you she is, to care for her until she becomes of age to tend for herself. Naturally you have prepared the usual things, crib, playpen, car seats, etcâ€¦ but as the days, months and years pass you canâ€™t help to think about what you will imprint on her. What you will leave with her long after you are gone. The stuff that helps her get through life unharmed, perhaps even without a broken heart , maybe to show her how she can be happy without all the material things hers peers, friends and others cherish so needlessly.

When my little girl was born her mom and I were in a tough time. We didnâ€™t last but 6 months after she came to us, and of course it was no fault of hers, but a number of things that accumulated in her parentâ€™s relationship that caused the parting.

Looking back on those days, her mom and I only wanted to do what was best for her albeit we differed in ways of how we believed it should be. I can say that I was distraught with how the whole thing played out but I am grateful that for the first 13 years of my daughterâ€™s life I was able to enjoy a lot of memorable time with her.

Those early years were always my favorite times. Of all the things that stuck with me the one thing that I will never forget is how I felt when she would fall asleep in my arms. From the time that she was an infant and nestled her head on my shoulder to when she was a toddler and rolled herself up in a ball for a nap against me on the couch.

â€œShe wakes and struggles to open her eyes. She reaches up from her bed to climb into my arms. She hugs tight to my chest and rests her head on my shoulder. I am reminded now, how it feels to be a fatherâ€.

I wrote that about her, one morning 14 years ago, when reflecting back on my life.

When she became a teen, my life again took a turn. This time period in our life wasnâ€™t a very good one. Itâ€™s hard enough on a fatherâ€™s relationship with his teen aged daughter when they both live in the same house, but being divorced, that was not our case. I understood the challenges I would face and not getting along well with her mom didnâ€™t help my cause. I learned through years mediating parents through their own divorces, that fighting wouldnâ€™t help my daughter see that I really loved and wanted what was best for her, so I let her choose her own path. Those years without her in my life (like it used to be) were very difficult. Although I believed that in time she would realize the man I was, it is still a hard thing to get through. I preached to others that if you stood by what you believed in, what your parents instilled in you, what values were important to teach your children and that if you showed love, then you had to make a stand. I felt that if I compromised my beliefs then I would be doing her an injustice, perhaps for the rest of her life. I needed her to remember and understand that I was her father, the same person who she adored when she was a child, and that person wasnâ€™t going to give in to certain things no matter what. It was a gamble but parents today compromise their beliefs and the things they were taught as children because they want â€œmore â€œ for their kids then they had. What a bunch of crap that is. How bad did we really have it?

I donâ€™t pretend to think I know it all when it comes to relationships. A father/ daughter relationship is a tough cookie to crumble. As a man we are wired to want to â€œfixâ€ everything, including whatever goes wrong in our daughterâ€™s life. But as a father we should realize that our daughter needs to find her on way at some point and hopefully what we showed her in her early years can help her get there. Parents today want to be friends to their children. They avoid laying down the law. They curse in front of them. They get drunk and stoned, sometimes even with them. And then, after it all, they cry out loud to their friends how their kids donâ€™t show respect towards them. I remind them how their parents would never have done the things they do in their childrenâ€™s presence and they certainly would not accept disrespect from their children but they say itâ€™s different now. Yes, sadly it is, but it wasnâ€™t going to be that way with me and my daughter. I would never want that for her and I wasnâ€™t going to let society or a divorce turn my way of thinking.

When she graduated High School I felt like an outsider looking in. She became this beautiful, intelligent, young woman who I hardly knew anymore. I understood fully how divorce can really tear apart a relationship between a parent and a child. Not being there all the time always put me in the role of the underdog. Never quite enough time to build something between us and now with her heading off to college, there never seemed to be a time to talk and maybe reconnect.

Being the person I am, I tried to remain true to what I believed. I paid the bills, tried to give her moral support and waited for a chance to get to know her again. I fully understood that itâ€™s pretty difficult for a young woman to open up to a man even if he is her father. She definitely couldnâ€™t share the things she would with her mom as easily if at all, with me. Heck some of that stuff could get embarrassing, plus as a father we donâ€™t need to know certain things!. But as years passed by things started to change and as she grew she needed support and advise and she began to turn to me for it. We began talking and spending more time together again and today we seem to be on a good path.

Itâ€™s been a challenge for both of us but I must say that I am impressed and proud of how things turned out. As a father I wanted her to understand the importance of family over friendship, the true value of a dollar, the show conviction in what you believe in and the pride that comes from earning everything you acquire in your life. As a father I would want my daughter to be strong and independent and to not have to rely on a man or the village to take care of her. To show both passions in all the things she does and compassion for the people she meets along lifeâ€™s path. That sheâ€™d never fall in love too easily, fear for a broken heart but embrace it when it happens and learn from it, and never, never become fearful that she wonâ€™t find happiness because that might happen more than once. Take the bad with the good because it makes the good even better when it happens. And remember what my mom always told me when things turn bad, â€œitâ€™s just a testâ€. After all these years and countless times of hearing it, I really have no clue what the hell that means because life itself seems to be a test. Mostly of showing patience and waiting for a point in time when you find that happy place. My advice to her would be not to wait to find happiness, but go and make it. Make a little bit everyday and when you get to be older you can look back and see that a lot of the sadness and pain is hidden deep behind all those little bits of happiness you made every day. I would also tell her that above all else stay true to who you are. Donâ€™t let anyone or anything make you into something you are not. This is one of the hardest things to do in your life because everything you believe, everything you are, and everything you do eventually effects someone else and you will always have to find a way to balance your feelings against your beliefs. You are unique, there will never be another you and you only get this one chance, so make it count.